This is the new version of the WTARS eNewsletter. I hope you find it a better product for the purpose of keeping you, the members, better informed on the activities of your Club.
I thought I would give you an informal mid-year report on the major activities of The West Tennessee Amateur Radio Society:
A busy year to date has been had by all. In January a very successful project was undertaken
that had been in the planning stage since October of 2007. Members of WTARS offered their services as instructors at the Boy Scouts of America "Winterfest" on January 26th, 2008. This event hosted close to 1,000 Boy Scouts from all over West Tennessee offering classes and activities in a wide range of disciplines for the purpose of qualifying the participants for Merit Badges. Our WTARS contingent taught and qualified approximately 60 young men for their Boy Scout Radio Merit Badge. In the process, I believe we planted the seeds for a bunch of future Hams.
Early February was a tense and busy period. The tornadoes of February 5th tested the endurance and skills of our SkyWarn and ARES/RACES members. SkyWarn activities that night has been highly praised by the public and politicians for keeping the public and National Weather Service informed in real-time of conditions 'on the ground' during the storms. ARES/RACES members assisted the next day in the all-important Preliminary Damage Assessment process; the first step in the road to recovery. This group of talented and dedicated volunteers have been activated several times so far this year and always perform their duties with the highest level of professionalism and skill. Soon after the tornadoes, WTARS was back in action with a public event display and demonstration at the 2008 Jackson Boat & RV show held at the Jackson Civic Center.April 5th brought the Annual
Andrew Jackson Marathon event attended by several hundred runners. WTARS, as in years past, provided the communication services for the organizers of the event and manned emergency communication stations along the route to relay information to and from the routes. This event was the first time the Emergency Communications Trailer was used as a Net Control Command Post.On May 8th, I had the pleasure, along with Phillip - KG4NVN and Greg- KE4FTA of addressing the Boy Scouts of America West Tennessee District Leadership Council where we gave a presentation about Ham Radio and emergency communications. The Scout leaders in attendance were interested and will tell their Troops about what Ham Radio can offer.
Yesterday, May 10th, several members of WTARS and ARES/RACES convened at the Jackson Fairgrounds Park to fully deploy the Emergency Communications Trailer to test all systems completely off the grid and to fully extend the 60-foot antenna tower and practice the setup and tear down procedures. Thanks to all that came out to help and learn how to use the equipment and trailer systems.Of course, June 27th - 29th will bring our big event of the year - the 2008 Field Day Event. This
year WTARS is celebrating its 50th Anniversary and we are going to celebrate it with a huge event at the Jackson Fairgrounds Park. This event will include displays and presentations from many of the emergency service agencies of the City of Jackson and Madison County. WTARS will have our Field Day activities, this year with the Emergency Communications Trailer as the main operating area. There will be VE Testing session as well as a FREE Ham Radio Tailgate Swap Fest to boot. Please plan on coming out and participating in our 50th Anniversary celebration.Our next WTARS Club Meeting will be Thursday June 5th at 7:00 pm at the McWhorter Technology Center at Jackson State Community College. Come out and help us finish the plans for Field Day three weeks later.
73,
G. Michael Winslow, KI4LMZ
President - WTARS
